WINTER GARDENS + BIG FEAR + GIFTHORSE + SNOWY MOUNTAIN – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 10.12.25
The final Hidden Herd new music event of the year at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton promised a quartet of rising talent. On the bill for this month’s December bash were Winter Gardens, Big Fear, Gifthorse and Snowy Mountain.
We made our way into town and trundled along to the popular Queens Road venue. The first floor door to the music room wasn’t quite open yet, as we could hear one of the artists still soundchecking the other side of the wall. It sounded rather promising, which certainly put us in a good mood! So liquid refreshments were purchased and the evening was ready to rock’n’roll….
Winter Gardens at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Headlining this evening’s proceedings were East Sussex and Brighton based Winter Gardens who comprise Ananda Howard (lead vocals, tambourine), Jamie Windless (guitar), Jasmine Ardley (vocals, synth), Connor McCorkindale (drums) and Ed Fair (bass).
With the accompaniment of synths, pianos, pads and the celestial harmonising vocals of Ananda Howard and Jasmine Ardley, Winter Gardens take listeners on a journey through an eclectic array of dynamic and disparate sounds. Their music weaves a kaleidoscopic tapestry of ethereal shoegaze atmospheres, bound together by a pulsing post-punk attitude and a brooding gothic undercurrent, with lyrics that evoke a sense of cryptic intimacy. Since their inception, Winter Gardens have been championed consistently by Brighton & Hove News and also Melita Dennett on BBC Music Introducing, appearing in the Live Lounge, and they have also received airplay on BBC Radio 1 from Gemma Bradley. This year, they unveiled their new mini-album ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ via austerity records which was co-produced by Luke Marsden and is available on 12” South Down Green vinyl – available HERE.
Winter Gardens at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Live, they have previously secured support slots alongside Echo & The Bunnymen, Gary Numan, Modern English, Piroshka, Pale Blue Eyes and many more. Emerging with a bold and confident new expanded lineup in 2024, they kicked off the year with an appearance at ‘Rockaway Beach’ alongside acts such as OMD, Self Esteem and Peter Hook & The Light, before performing at ‘Left of the Dial’ in Rotterdam and Supersonic Club in Paris. They are set to return for ‘Rockaway Beach’ 2026 on 4th January.
This evening we are in their company for a mere 27 minutes from 10:27pm until 10:54pm and in that time, they were all dressed in black and certainly weren’t hanging around and offloaded seven self-penned compositions. There was a droning sound coming from the Korg keyboard which signalled the beginning of ‘The Honeymooners’ which was the first of five cuts from their ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP. It’s a solid opener with the girls on joint vocals harmonizing rather well together. There are, like most of their material, many layers of sounds going on, and this features some great guitar action. Without any delay, they dived straight into ‘Anthropocene’ which is also from the EP and this has real post punk vibes with solid drumming, screechy U2 style guitarwork, and notable dual vocal deliveries. Evanescence spring to mind, but Winter Gardens do it better, an example of which is Jamie who appears to live every note he plays on his guitar, through every single vein of his body.
Winter Gardens at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Staying with the ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP, they next perform ‘Search Party’ which honestly has that stadium sound to it and if there’s any justice in this world, that is exactly where they should be performing! Their ‘U/U’ single from their EP is up next and is just as solid, with wonderful screaming keys. This is followed by ‘Wonders Bleak’ from their ‘Tapestry’ EP from back in 2020 which came out on 12” Marble Magenta coloured vinyl and the guitar is reminiscent of The Cure and then the constant drums kick in and it’s a rather gothic composition, which witnesses Ananda adding more depth with the use of a tambourine. It’s fair to say that they absolutely nailed this recent single. The sound quality all evening has been bang on and Winter Gardens seem to be thriving on it. I’ve seen them many times before, and they are ever the perfectionists and occasionally the sound quality hasn’t been perfect and this is picked up especially by Jamie who is sensitive to this and his annoyance of previous sound quality has shown on his face. This evening, however, he is relishing it and a shared glance with partner Ananda brings a rare on stage smile to her face!
It’s back to ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP with the performance of ‘Hyacinth’ which has some notable guitar twangs akin to The Edge of U2 from back in the day, along with some almost Liz Frazer-esque vocals atop. This too has many layers of sound which seems to be their trademark sound. I particularly enjoy the break beat when the guitar sings alone, whilst waiting for the keys to screech in and drums to be layered on top. It’s fair to say that tonight’s version is pretty epic! They sign off with the hard rockin’ ‘Zigzanny’ which sees the band doing their very best early Blondie sounds, with its tons of bass riffage and Jamie seriously going for it! This has an abrupt ending which sees the tune come to a conclusion in less than three minutes. Tonight has been an absolute masterclass by Winter Gardens, and I would even go so far as to say it’s the best I’ve ever seen them! Onwards and upwards guys!
Winter Gardens at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Winter Gardens:
Ananda Howard – lead vocals, tambourine
Jamie Windless – guitar
Jasmine Ardley – vocals, synth
Connor McCorkindale – drums, drumpads
Ed Fair – bass
Winter Gardens setlist:
‘The Honeymooners’ (from 2025 ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP)
‘Anthropocene’ (from 2025 ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP)
‘Search Party’ (from 2025 ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP)
‘U/U’ (from 2025 ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP)
‘Wonders Bleak’ (from 2020 ‘Tapestry’ EP)
‘Hyacinth’ (from 2025 ‘Uncomfortable/Unlovable’ EP)
‘Zigzanny’ (from 2020 ‘Tapestry’ EP)
linktr.ee/wintergardensband
Big Fear at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
The third act on the bill tonight are Big Fear who I don’t believe I’ve ever seen before. They are a rising London trio formed by Alice Edwards (lead vocals), Jack Wilkinson (guitar) and Ben Crone (synth), and this evening are joined by Rian on drums. Dystopian and operatic, their sound blends elements of alt-pop and indie rock, led by the magnetic storytelling of singer Alice Edwards, who creates a space where outsiders can belong. The band’s vision comes to life on their flawless debut EP ‘Career Day’, produced by Charlie Andrew (alt-J, Wolf Alice), which recently surpassed 200,000 Spotify streams and has been featured on editorial playlists such as New Music Friday, Melomania, Hot New Bands and Peach. Backed by praise from Dork and Clash, plus spins on John Kennedy’s Radio X show and BBC Music Introducing, Big Fear appeared at ‘Truck Festival’ this summer and also supported The Howlers at London’s Scala alongside Kynsy back in October.
This evening we are in their company for 29 minutes, from 9:31pm to 10:00pm on the dot. During that time, the four musicians grant us seven songs, five of which are found on their aforementioned ‘Career Day’ EP, and the other two are yet to be recorded. They kick off with ‘Culture Cannibal’ which is also the opener from their EP. It’s quite a rocky number with a funk overtone and certainly a foot-tapper to get the punters on-side. Selection two is the quicker retro sounding ‘Beautiful Hands’ which Alice informs us is about “An A.I. housewife that wants to kill you!”. This tune could have been written any time since 1980 to be honest and thus has that timeless quality, with Rian certainly shining through on this tune.
Big Fear at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Alice introduces the next tune as “Sisyphus” and says about folk not knowing how it’s spelt can look it up. I did and it said “Sisyphus, a cunning king in Greek myth, was condemned to eternal punishment in the underworld: endlessly rolling a huge boulder uphill, only for it to roll back down each time it neared the top, making his labour futile. The meaning of Sisyphus today symbolizes endless, repetitive, and pointless tasks, a Sisyphean struggle, but also embodies human resilience, perseverance, and the absurd”, so now you know! There’s more solid drumming on this slightly funky stomper.
Next up is the unreleased ‘Courier Mail’ which Alice informs us is about the fact that “Jeff Bezos will kill you for a fiver!”. This has some plinky keys and guitar riffage on it, and talking of the guitar, I note that Jack has his on a very short strap so it’s virtually under his armpit as he plays it. Meanwhile Alice offloads the expressive lyrics and added movements which the punters are absorbing. She, like Winter Garden’s Jamie, appears to feel every line!
Big Fear at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Alice then informs us that it’s Ben’s birthday today, and so we sing him “Happy Birthday” as best we can. It’s a decent audience in this evening and the mood in the room is positive, relaxed and welcoming of all the four bands, which is nice to see and be a part of. The band then launch into ‘Mildew’ from the EP, and interestingly the opening vocal lines and their tone remind me of “When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful; A miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical” which are the opening lines of Supertramp’s ‘Logical Song’. Alice’s vocals are solid and remind me of Kate Bush at times as well as some other notable singers such as Aurora and Greentea Peng. Alice then introduces ‘Darling Boy’ adding that it is “another new one”. This has some notable jazz-funk Korg keyboard action going on and they seriously rocked on out in a prog rock kinda way, which the punters dutifully rewarded on its conclusion. For me, it was their set highlight and didn’t actually sound like the other half-dozen tunes.
They signed off with the final tune from their EP, this being ‘Money’ which was another solid offering, with its distinctive locals, tapping drumbeat, Korg action and later guitar riffs. Alice certainly has a good stage presence and bonded well with the punters and have no doubt obtained more new fans off of the back of tonight’s performance. I’m expecting to see Big Fear cropping up more often in 2026 as they work their way up!
Big Fear at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Big Fear:
Alice Edwards – vocals
Jack Wilkinson – guitar
Ben Crone – synth, laptop
Rian – drums
Big Fear setlist:
‘Culture Cannibal’ (from 2025 ‘Career Day’ EP)
‘Beautiful Hands’ (from 2025 ‘Career Day’ EP)
‘Sisyphus’ (from 2025 ‘Career Day’ EP)
‘Courier Mail’ (unreleased)
‘Mildew’ (from 2025 ‘Career Day’ EP)
‘Darling Boy’ (unreleased)
‘Money’ (from 2025 ‘Career Day’ EP)
www.instagram.com/_bigfear
Gifthorse at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
The second act on the Hidden Herd bill this evening are Gifthorse which is stylized in capitals as GIFTHORSE. They are a North London–based alt-pop duo led by the songwriting partnership of singer Naomi Mann and guitarist Charlie Butler. Together they craft instantaneous, hook-laden songs that capture the romance – and occasional embarrassment – of life as a twenty-something in the capital. Their self-described “frazzled English pop” blends Mann’s classic pop vocals with Butler’s fizzing, scuzzy guitar and escapist storytelling about London, its nightlife and the characters they observe. Completing the band this evening are Zak Waller on drums and Iggy Waller on bass.
Gifthorse’s debut single ‘Please Love Me’ has already turned heads, earning spins from Chris Hawkins on BBC Radio 6 Music and Gary Crowley on BBC London. Last month they dropped their second single which is titled ‘13 Going On 30’ which is the lead track from their debut 4-track EP which is exclusively available on cassette via their Bandcamp page HERE. Live, they’ve played Scotland’s biggest music discovery festival, ‘Tenement Trail’, a Communion One club night, and shared bills with fellow exciting newcomers such as Lizzie Esau, Better Joy and Harvey Jay Dodgson.
Gifthorse at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Tonight we are in Gifthorse’s company for 24 minutes from 8:48pm until 9:12pm and in that time they played us seven songs, which comprised their two singles, tracks from their EP and a trio of yet-to-be-released tracks. The minute they started performing opening tune ‘Silent Disco’, I had a massive deja-vu moment as the comparison to a previous performance on this same exact Hope & Ruin stage which featured Alexa Povey aka Circe, was uncanny. Not only does Naomi sound like Circe, but the band musically aren’t that far away either, and also Naomi’s props were a bunch of real roses, which Alexa had also used as a prop for her gig here for the ‘Mutations Festival’ on 9th November 2024. They are also both residents of London….uncanny!
Selection two was ‘Love Is A Landslide’ from their ‘13 Going On 30’ cassette EP, and this features some fast bass drum and cymbal action from the start. It’s a 80’s-inspired hand clapping bright tune and again vocally sounds like Circe. Naomi then informs us that they have come down from North London to perform for us, which is gratefully appreciated. ‘Fridays Girl’ is selection three and this has a bouncy beat that reminds me of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’. They then perform their new ‘13 Going On 30’ single which has some decent guitar and drum action as well as backing vocals from Charlie. With a tap of the Roland drumpads and then the drums from Zak, they are away again with ‘Stranger Baby’ from their EP and I note that Charlie’s Gibson Les Paul guitar sounds like early New Order.
Gifthorse at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
With a “1-2-3-4” from Zak they began their most intense tune thus far, this being their ‘Please Love Me’ single which certainly doesn’t stray too far from sounding like The Primitives, which is just fine by me. After this Naomi introduces their final song which was penned about “A Northern Soul night in Hackney”, and not surprisingly it’s called ‘Hackney Northern Soul’, and actually sounds like the disco beats used by Blondie as opposed to sounding like Northern Souls classics such as ‘Out On The Floor’ (Dobie Gray), ‘What’ (Judy Street), ‘Time Will Pass You By’ (Tobi Legend), ‘Better Use Your Head’ (Little Anthony & The Imperials), ‘Loving On The Losing Side’ (Tommy Hunt), ‘I’m On My Way’ (Dean Parrish), ‘Theme From “Joe 90”’ (Ron Grainer), ‘There’s A Ghost In My House’ (R Dean Taylor), ‘Footsee’ (Wigan’s Chosen Few), ‘Tainted Love’ (Gloria Jones), ‘Night Owl’ (Bobby Paris), or ‘Nothing Can Compare To You’ (Vellvet Satins)….hmmmm I feel a mixtape coming on!
This was very much a case of “Do look a gift horse in the mouth” as this was a fabulous set and a band I would very much like to catch live in action again! So how about it guys?
Gifthorse at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)
Gifthorse:
Naomi Mann – vocals
Charlie Butler – guitar, backing vocals
Zak Waller – drums, drumpads
Iggy Waller – bass
Gifthorse setlist:
‘Silent Disco’ (unreleased)
‘Love Is A Landslide’ (from 2025 ‘13 Going On 30’ cassette EP)
‘Fridays Girl’ (unreleased)
‘13 Going On 30’ (a 2025 single & from 2025 ‘13 Going On 30’ cassette EP)
‘Stranger Baby’ (from 2025 ‘13 Going On 30’ cassette EP)
‘Please Love Me’ (a 2025 single)
‘Hackney Northern Soul’ (unreleased)
linktr.ee/thebandgifthorse
Snowy Mountain at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic 16 Beasley St Photography)
Opening up the December Hidden Herd night was Snowy Mountain who I have seen in action once before when she played at Daltons on 3rd February 2025, for the debut concert outside the American continent for Los Angeles based electronic artist Madeline Goldstein – Review HERE. Snowy Mountain is a Brighton-based electronic artist who crafts dreamy soundscapes where haunting melodies meet hypnotic rhythms. Her delicate vocals float over atmospheric synth layers, carrying listeners into a surreal, mystical world. On stage, she is joined by frequent collaborator Max Earl (or is that Earle or Erle) who is better known as Prince Vaseline, and this evening for the very first time Oli Newton is on drums. Together they bring a richer, more immersive live experience. To date, Snowy has shared bills with BC Camplight member Dilettante, the aforementioned Madeline Goldstein, and Brighton favourites including Last Living Cannibal, Fruity Water, Murphy’s Medicine, and Seadog – Review HERE.
We are in the trio’s company for 24 minutes, from 8:07pm until 8:31pm, when they gave us a half-dozen tunes. As it was a late start, one other composition had to sadly be dropped. With Snowy wearing a white spacesuit, minus the helmet, I hasten to add, and the boys sporting blue NASA spacesuits, they get under way with ‘Back To The Future’ which has a retro vibe and benefits from a wonderful blend of Moog Rogue monophonic analog synthesizer from Snowy, and Casio keys and other electronics from Max. Thankfully there’s more of the same with the performance of ‘Plain Rise’. After which Snowy informs us that the next track “Is about space”, this being ‘My Dreams’, which has a slower beat than the previous two tunes and it reminds me of the more sedate songs of China Crisis.
Snowy Mountain at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic 16 Beasley St Photography)
Selection four is ‘Space Peaks’ which sees Max opening up the vocals before handing over to Snowy, and then after a while there’s a joint vocal delivery. This has a kind of Bossa-nova beat and once it gets going, it increases in intensity and becomes the current standout tune of the set. For the penultimate selection, ‘Mineral Man’, Snowy begins by utilizing the central microphone which is away from the one behind her keyboard. This has a rather wonderful floaty bleepy-beep sound and is yet another solid offering from the trio, in fact, so much so, that it narrowly eclipses the previous track, and becomes the choice tune of the set for yours truly.
Prior to the final number, Snowy informs us that it’s the very first time they have ever played live in front of an audience with a live drummer, cue applause for Oli. I hope that this is the new way forward for Snowy and her chums as the sound was more rounded with more going on. The final number was ‘Runaway Party’ which had a slowish beat with an impressive Moog keyboard riff going down. It has been a really charming performance and I’m already looking forward to catching Snowy Mountain live in action in Brighton at The Prince Albert on Friday 6th February when they will be supporting Dreamcoaster. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased from Melting Vinyl promoters HERE.
Snowy Mountain at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 10.12.25 (pic 16 Beasley St Photography)
Snowy Mountain:
Snowy Mountain – vocals, synth
Oli Newton – drums, drumpads
Max Erle – synths, vocals
Snowy Mountain setlist:
‘Back To The Future’ (unreleased)
‘Plain Rise’ (unreleased)
‘My Dreams’ (unreleased)
‘Space Peaks’ (unreleased)
‘Mineral Man’ (unreleased)
‘Runaway Party’ (unreleased)
instagram.com/snowymountainmusic
It’s been a really enjoyable night, with great bands, great friends and great punters! It’s quite possibly my favourite ever Hidden Herd night! Roll on 2026 which will hopefully bring in more exciting acts. Keep your eyes peeled HERE for forthcoming announcements.
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